Man reports dad's 'heart attack,' is charged with murder

Michael Walker charged in father's death

A Henderson County man is charged with murder after making a 911 call reporting that his father had a heart attack Sunday night.

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said Michael Stephen Walker, 44, of Etowah, N.C., called 911 at about 9:45 p.m.

On the 911 call, Walker says his father, 71-year-old Gerald “Jerry” Walker of Lilburn, Ga., had attacked him before suffering a heart attack and falling unconscious on the floor.

On the 911 call, Michael Walker spoke in a calm voice, and said, “He came out of the shower a while ago. He was clearing garbage out of his house. I don’t know what he’s doing. He went crazy and attacked me. He was screaming at me.”

Walker repeatedly tells the dispatcher that his father attacked him and that he is scared.

He said, “He attacked me. The place is terrible. He’s just lying on the floor; He attacked me. He’s all bruised up. He attacked me and we were fighting. I defended myself.”

The dispatcher was recorded telling Walker how to perform CPR on his father.

Walker says, still speaking calming and in a quiet voice, “Help, please. I think he’s dead; We had a fight. We were fist fighting and he fell down. He’s bruised. I’m bruised.”

Walker then begins to perform CPR and says, “Nothing’s happening,” while he continued to count chest compressions.

He tells the dispatcher, “He came up from Georgia. This is his house, his condo. He came up here a couple weeks ago because everything was breaking.”

After several minutes, he tells the dispatcher again that his father is not breathing, and that they are both “banged up” from fighting.

Then he says, “Sir, I think he’s dead.”

After several more chest compressions, Walker tells the dispatcher he cannot continue, and he goes to open the door before returning to try to perform CPR.

The call ended when Walker told the dispatcher that sheriff’s deputies had arrived. He is heard on the recording saying thank you before hanging up.

A release from the Sheriff’s Office said they were met at the door by Walker who said he and his dad had a physical altercation about 10 minutes before he called 911 and his father must have had a heart attack.

Deputies said they immediately smelled a strong odor of bleach and found inconsistencies with the victim’s condition and an alleged heart attack.

Detectives came to the home and interviewed Walker. He was then charged with murder.

Walker is being held without bond in the Henderson County Detention Facility.

A preliminary autopsy showed that blunt-force trauma to the head was the cause of death for Gerald Walker, the official results will be available in 8-12 weeks.

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